daeron

it is an electronic, distributor driven ignition.. you can drop the distributor (and its associated ignition parts) from any carb'ed EA82 into the SPFI motors and it would work fine; you would know better than I what bits are needed to make the older ignition work. The SPFI distributors are totally run by the computer, but they arent "distributorless" systems.

Well, kinda, yah. "Funny" is a vague term, and I can certainly tell the difference between the ride with a donut on and without.. if the car is a FWD I always put the donut on a back wheel and roll one wheel forwards, if needs be. Even RWD cars, I prefer to keep my front wheels with good tires.. Steering and stopping are more important that going fast. However, until you drive the car with four normal tires on it for a couple days and don't feel anything awkward, I wouldn't rule out the possibility of buggering a tie rod end.. if they are old it can be easy to push one over the edge.

Awesome, this is the first I have read anything about "proper" dickering with this screw. Thanks for the update.

IIRC, you can find an EA81 car equipped with AC at the junkyard and pull the electric fan from it, and replace the clutch fan with that electric, if you want.

:doubletake: Thats just goofy.. but awesome goofy.

thats wild, mine has absolutely nothing that happens at 55 or the bloody digidash would have been ripped out and smashed to bits years ago. That sounds REALLY annoying to me.

all you gotta do is paint it. Any color you want, if you get all the black off. I have the Subaru GL-10 plastic emblem off my original trunklid still, and its all buggered up.. I am going to re line the lettering with testor's silver model paint and then hit the back with some plastic black paint, and it should come out fine from what i have read from others who have already done it.

Your English seems fine to me Let me know if I let *my* english slip too far. My guess is that they used the stock fuel pump wiring for the carby pump, and since the system wasn't recognizing that the engine was running, it would not turn the fuel pump relay "on" any other way. The FI system will only run the fuel pump for a shirt while after the key is on, and while the key is cranked, if it doesn't get the message that it is running. I am not sure exactly how this signal is relayed to the computer on the turbo models, but when the green connectors are plugged in it bypasses all that and cycles the fuel pump relay. you COULD simply wire the fuel pump yourself, to be on with the key.. or find some way of installing a fuel pump relay that would be energized only with the car running.. I am not 100% certain how carbureted models do this, but a look at a service manual ought to set you straight. Hope This Helps.

two row radiator. How close to the red did it get? Head gaskets are the #1 achilles heel of these engines. Hate to say it, but just given the story as you told it there is probably a 20-50% chance that youve blown a head gasket (or possibly already HAD one; it WOULD help explain an over pressurized cooling system leading to the rad hose failure you experienced) The Haynes books for these cars is not horribly helpful; it covers all models produced from 1980 thru 1990, including 1600 and 1800 engines, (the OHV and the OHC 1800) so it is sort of a case of "Watering down" like chilton's likes to do. http://www.ch601.org/engines.htm go there and find subaru EA82 parts 1 and 2.. that is PART of the FSM, the engine section and most of the FI section. unfortunately the turbo FI section is largely missing, but its MUCH better to work with than the haynes book. Constant live to radio sounds like possibly a blown fuse or a bad ground wire inside the dash? Hood release cable isnt AWFULLY hard to replace, go junkyard route for a new one.. Hazard flasher unit is right next to the turn signal flasher, buried up under the dash pretty well centered above the driver's feet. Changing my T/S flasher was the single most diffuclt and frustrating job I have done on my car, INCLUDING the headgasket job I did. Best hint I can give you is turn on the turn signal, and feel around for the ticking flasher unit. The one next to it is the hazard flasher. Dome light: does it come on with ANY of the doors?? if not then my guess is bad contact in the "door" position of the switch within the dome light itself; I *think* the door switches only switch ground. Does the dash indicator show you when the doors of the car open? if NOT, then the door switches are the culprit; door switches run the indicator light in the dash AND the dome light both. Good luck, HTH and I hope your headgaskets are OK.. if NOT, then we can take THAT ball and run with it when you get to it.

I was JUST THINKING about when I had to ask this smae question not three minutes before I refreshed the forum page after checking all the new threads, to see what had happened while I was going through it all!!! "For The Win." Sometimes it means "eff the world" but thats more of an alternate interpretation.. usually in forum use it is obviously for the win. in a word, it means

+1. the most succint piece of advice on "what octane should I run?" is this: Any internal combustion engine should run on the lowest octane fuel it can without detonating. Not that anyone would blame you for running high test when you didnt really NEED to.. but if others run on low test fine, then you should be able to as well.

I would try replacing the O2 sensor before your next test.. but I would probably wait until very shortly before your next test. What kind of fuel mileage are you getting? is it comparable to other subarus you have had with the same engine/driveline combination in the past? If it seems to be lacking a little, then replace the O2 sensor now... You *might* want to check the calibration of the TPS.. if it werent going down to "idle" position at zero pedal, then I could see how idle HC might be high.. ESPECIALLY if the air screw has been adjusted to "lower the idle" to proper speed... I posted a one page jpg from the FSM on the TPS calibration in the USRM recently, if you want to try that.

+1 for the learner's permit aged daughter who likes the Subaru made from multiple Subarus!!!

shouldnt be anything like the Z-car. (BTW, I had no idea.. Z-car FTW!) There are three different types of codes: Active codes are codes being outputted while the check engine light is on. If the CEL is off, then the LED will not be blinking anything at you. (BTW, the LED on the ECU is also an O2 monitor lamp; it comes on whenever the O2 sensor senses a "rich" condition, so just seeing it flicker on and off doesnt mean anything.) Stored codes are codes showing CEL events from the past; in other words, CEL comes on, goes off, the computer stores the code. These are accessed by plugging in the "white connectors." Then turn on the car, and it should output the stored codes that were causing the CEL. Then there are D-check codes. D-check is a dealership diagnostic mode that you put the ECU into by plugging in the green connectors and revving the engine above 2K for 30 (?) seconds. The CEL starts to flash annoyingly, and once the CEL is flashing check the LED. A long flash is 10, a short flash is 1. a code, 48 for instance, (not a real code AFAIK) would be four long pulses, followed by eight shorts. Read the entry in the USRM, or download the FSM at http://www.ch601.org/engines.htm for more detailed instructions on the complete procedure, and the list of code meanings. IF the computer just outputs a series of short blinks (less than ten) it is simply an ID code meaning USDM model vs California model, trans type, etc. It also means that there are no codes. It will only output this if in D-check or read memory mode, with no codes, though.

I whammed a curb doing about the same thing, made it up to about 30, maybe 35 MPH before I hit, too.. I flogged my tie rod end, it was BAD but it was immediately apparent.. it DID get worse, but it only had about 20-30 miles before it was too bad to continue driving. Jack the car up, and check the radius rod.. The tie rod end and the ball joint are the most likely things to go wrong, with a bent radius rod, and then a bent lower control arm, being the next two most likely possibilities. Do you have a copy of the HTKYSA file? That gives you a GREAT walk-through on how to check your suspension components for a possible problem, and its what I used to pinpoint my issue to the tie rod end.. When you check the radius rod (thats the long rod that bolts to the LCA right behind the wheel) make sure you investigate the spot where that rod bolts to the subframe as well. Just compare the two sides; if the impacted side has something that looks bent or out of shape, then replace it with junkyard componentry. The tie rod end, or the ball joint, should be replaced new, and they should be replaced in pairs even though its only one side that is "bad." Tie rod ends are the only alignment adjustment on the front end of the EA series subarus.. That being the case, you will need a front wheel alignment after replacing it. You can get it real close at home, but since I haven't done any GOOD homebrew wheel alignments, I will leave it to someone else to explain how you can do that IF you want to bother. Personally, I would rather take it to a shop and let them do it, and I NEVER SAY THAT. The shop SHOULD be able to tell if anything else was damaged that you missed.. after all, they ARE experts at finding things to charge you for.

Davalos: FTW!!!!!

Awesome. So many people opt to go for the push button, it makes me feel good to see someone use that (in some ways absurdly long) write up.

I am not the know all see all on this.. but my understanding is that there IS no "procedure" since it is something that is never to be touched.. Sorry to be the first to say this. Keep your fingers crossed.. If I AM wrong, then my posting here saying "nah, you can't do it" is probably the surest way to encourage someone to post up making me stick my foot in my mouth again :-p

yah? (that is what *I* would want to hear, in your shoes anyhow..)

The ecu and its light are easy enough to find, but it is made simpler finding it the first time by removing the panel above the drivers feet. The ECU is a metal box there, about the size of a small to moderate car stereo amp.. It is screwed onto the bottom of the steering column, basically. The LED light is facing towards the back of the car, parallel to the ground.. It is recessed into the casing, so you are basically just looking for a hole to watch for flashes, until you have seen the light.. Once you find it all yourself for the first time, the detailed directions are superfluous.. but it can be a bit tricky finding that light.

Can you document this build with lots of pictures?? I have always been a VW camper nut, but the last one my family had was sold in...1988? 89? Anyhow, the sleepermobile is what I always thought the touring wagons were perfect for.

There is something odd going on here... I realize that you have been over several issues on this car very recently, and have already posted much info up.. so please forgive me if the question im about to ask is absurdly redundant... but have you checked the codes on the beast? PCV system is definitely one place to look for problems if no codes show up. Just for clarification, you are saying that these symptoms occur right as the car is approaching "normal" operating temperature? Something is telling me that should give is a major clue right there, but the beer on my brain is making mental troubleshooting a bit tricky right now, heh.... What does the coolant look like? You running antifreeze/mix, or straight water? and chances of oil contamination? What color smoke comes out of the engine bay? Could this simply be a bad coolant hose on the turbo?? Possibly a bad seal somewhere in the turbo? You need to pinpoint the source of the smoke, and also tell us the color. I am just trying to throw ideas and thoughts at you to help you figure things out. IF you need a new turbo I JUST MIGHT have one that i can ship you fairly inexpensively' My uncle has some turbos kicking around in his shop and I have been meaning to determine whether they WERE EA82 turbos or not for some time now; this would be an EXCELLENT opposrtunity to finally get around to that. The EA82T isnt "craptastic," it is simply far more failure prone than our 350K mile without a blink (just a few timing belts and proper cooling system maintenance) non turbo engines. The big reason they have a bad rep is from people expecting them to either be tire screechers out of the box because its a boxer turbo, or people building them into tire screechers because its a boxer turbo. If your expectations are realistic, then you wont be disappointed. Just like my buddy with the Turbo Volvos. Patience is a virtue; all I have ever gotten from being upset is broken tools, sheared bolt heads, busted knuckles, and other such misery. Chances are that someone here has had the same problem you are before, so relax and help us help you. (okay, help the others more knowledgeable about the turbo engines.. "us" is stretching it since i have zero experience on this motor firsthand) HTH, and good luck; I'll keep an eye on this thread.

Lucky!!! *I* want a touring wagon! seriously though, good luck on the title work, if that is the wagon I think it is the work shouldnt be TOO awful.. Harbor freight sells a relatively inexpensive hydraulic power kit that should be helpful in pushing some things back in to place on the thing. Any community colleges in your area that train for body work? A friend of mine just had her Volvo straightened (VERY VERY slight frame bending) and a fender replaced, plus the whole car repainted pro bono because they needed cars to work on. Might not be a bad idea to look into?? For the hard work, if not for the painting. Gut the back seat and rear interior and make it into a campwagon, just to fulfill a pipe dream of mine. You know you want to do it. Think about it.. A go-anywhere, lifted Fishingmobile!!!!

thats it, as far as i know.

there was a Saab that about matched that, except i *think* it may have been lighter.. anyhow, it took sixth place overall at the inaugural 12 hours of Sebring in 1956. I found THAT kinda wacky, but thats an endurance race for ya... now, how did I manage to post twice in a row about Sebring?